Today I’ve got a real treat: A movie cast for Darkhaven, handpicked by the author herself!  This would book would make a wonderful movie, so I hope Hollywood is paying attention.  Also, if anyone knows where to get hold of a time machine, let us know – it would make casting so much easier! 😀

Stay tuned afterward, because I’ve got all the deets on a great Rafflecopter giveaway at the end of the post!

I always have difficulty with casting my characters, because no one in real life looks quite like the people in my head. I always say that if my books were going to be translated into visual media, I’d like them to be either anime or graphic novels. Nevertheless, I’ve given it a go.

Darkhaven is set in a capital city, Arkannen, into which people from many different countries have migrated over the years. Most people’s heritage is a mixture of cultures/influences; they tend to think of themselves as Arkannenites before anything else (much as Londoners are Londoners before they are British). So although Mirrorvale and its surrounding countries don’t have exact real-world analogues, I’ve chosen actors who have quite a diverse mixture of backgrounds. (The exception is the Nightshade family, who tend to keep themselves apart.)

Myrren and Ayla Nightshade – Gaspard Ulliel and Alexis Knapp

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Nightshade family are distinctive for having black hair, pale skin and dark blue eyes (and being able to shapeshift, but I don’t know how you look for that in an actor). These two need to play brother and sister: they’re both fierce and aloof, though she is the more outwardly feisty of the two.

Tomas Caraway – a young Lenny Kravitz

I loved Lenny as Cinna in the Hunger Games movies. He’s not young enough to play Tomas now, but this is a fantasy casting, so let’s pretend I can go back in time and grab him in his 20s. 🙂

Serenna – Rashida Jones

Rashida Jones is ridiculously cute. She’d need to become a temporary redhead to play Serenna, but her freckles are absolutely perfect.

Oh, and she shares my birthday. Which isn’t relevant or anything, but I thought it was nice.

Naeve Sorrow – Mylène Jampanoï

I think Mylène could pull off the attitude required to be Arkannen’s most notorious mercenary. But you have to imagine her with very short, white-blond hair. 🙂

About the Author

A.F.E. Smith is an editor of academic texts by day and a fantasy writer by night. So far, she hasn’t mixed up the two. She lives with her husband and their two young children in a house that someone built to be as creaky as possible – getting to bed without waking the baby is like crossing a nightingale floor. Though she doesn’t have much spare time, she makes space for reading, mainly by not getting enough sleep (she’s powered by chocolate). Her physical bookshelves were stacked two deep long ago, so now she’s busy filling up her e-reader.

What A.F.E. stands for is a closely guarded secret, but you might get it out of her if you offer her enough snacks.

You can find out more about A.F.E. on her website, as well as follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

About the Book

Ayla Nightshade never wanted to rule Darkhaven. But her half-brother Myrren – true heir to the throne – hasn’t inherited their family gift, forcing her to take his place.

When this gift leads to Ayla being accused of killing her father, Myrren is the only one to believe her innocent. Does something more sinister than the power to shapeshift lie at the heart of the Nightshade family line?

Now on the run, Ayla must fight to clear her name if she is ever to wear the crown she never wanted and be allowed to return to the home she has always loved.

You can pre-order Darkhaven from HarperCollins, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, iBooks, and Kobo.

And now, onto the rest of the fun!

The aforementioned giveaway includes a host of great prizes.  There’s an e-book copy of Darkhaven, a signed paperback of Felinity, a set of five bookmarks, a notebook and keyring, some chocolate, AND a £10/$15 gift card!  It’s a king’s ransom in prizes, and they could be yours if you enter this Rafflecopter giveaway!

You can earn entries in several ways:

1. Join the release party.
2. Sign up to A.F.E. Smith’s mailing list
3. Leave a blog post comment
4. Add Darkhaven on Goodreads
5. Tweet about the giveaway
6. Follow @afesmith on Twitter
7. Visit A.F.E. Smith on Facebook
8. Complete the scavenger hunt

A scavenger hunt, you say?  Why, yes!  To join in the scavenger hunt, all you have to do is visit at least one of the stops on the tour each day and collect the letters (see the M up above).  At the end of the tour, you should have five words.  Type ’em into the Rafflecopter for five entries!

See?  Toldja it’d be fun. 😀

Don’t forget to stop back tomorrow for an excerpt from the book!

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